Buckeyes Open 2015 Season in New York

Ohio State gains experience vs. top teams from around the country this past weekend

Fifth-year senior Rhys Douglas

Jan. 25, 2015

COLUMBUS, Ohio - In its first two competitions of 2015, the Ohio State fencing team gained solid experience against some of the top teams from around the country this past weekend in New York, competing at the St. Johns Invitational Cup Saturday and the NYU Invitational on Sunday.

St. John's Invite Recap:During the St. John's Invitational Cup in Queens, N.Y., the third-ranked men's squad went 2-3 claiming victories against No. 2 Notre Dame (15-12) and No. 5 St. John's (15-12). A trio of newcomers had strong performances. Freshman Marc-Antoine Blais Belanger, a native of Montreal, Quebec, went 7-5 in his epee bouts, while classmate Stanislov Sudilovsky, from Israel, also claimed eight wins in men's foil for the Scarlet and Gray. Lewis Weiss, Houston, Texas, was 9-3 in his epee bouts. Highlighting the day was the huge sweep from the men's epeeists vs. SJU's Yegeniy Karuchenko, the 2014 NCAA champion. Blais Belanger (3-2), junior Matt Bogard (5-3) and senior Bill Meyer (5-3) all defeated the reigning national champion.

On the women's side, the Buckeyes claimed a pair of victories against No. 4 Penn State (17-10) and No. 7 Harvard (16-11). Sophomore Eleanor Harvey claimed a 5-4 upset win over 2014 NCAA champion and 2012 Olympic fifth place finisher Lee Kiefer of Notre Dame in women's foil. Senior Celina Merza had the best record for the Buckeye women on Saturday, going 11-4.

NYU Invite RecapThe Buckeyes faced six teams at the NYU Invitational on Sunday in New York, N.Y. The men's side finished 3-1, while the women's team completed completion with a 3-2 mark.

In men's competition, Andrew Herczak went 10-2 in men's sabre to lead the group to a combined 25-11 record, while Sulidovsky notched an 11-1 mark in men's foil and Chris Colley was 9-2 in foil competition. Louis Weiss was 9-3 in men's epee to lead the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes claimed a foil sweep vs. Columbia to help the team notch a 16-11 win vs. the fourth-ranked Lions.

On the women's side, the Buckeyes bounced back with a strong 24-3 win over NYU in the opening round. The women's sabre unit went 9-0 against the host school led by Celina Merza and Alexa Antipas, who both combined for a 21-3 record at the invitational. Eugenia Falqui led the Scarlet and Gray in women's epee with an 8-2 record, while Eleanor Harvey boasted a 9-2 record in women's foil, which combined for a 30-15 scored in the five rounds of competition. The OSU women finished the weekend with a 20-7 victory over Yale.

Up NextYour Buckeyes return to action next week at the Northwestern Duals Jan. 31 in Evanston, Ill. For the second-consecutive year, Ohio State will host the 2015 NCAA Championships March 19-22 in Columbus.